For years, Microsoft gradually phased out SHA-1. By early 2020, Microsoft required all software and driver code signatures to use the SHA-2 algorithm. Windows 8 and Windows 10 natively support SHA-2. But . It was built in an era before this requirement existed.

The primary driver behind the certificate chain error on Windows 7 is the cryptographic shift from the SHA-1 hashing algorithm to the more secure SHA-2 standard.

This article breaks down why this happens. We are going to walk through the two main methods to fix this—one that relies on Microsoft's typical update process and another for advanced users who need to solve the problem offline.

(Servicing stack update)

the certificate file ( MicRooCerAut2011_2011_03_22.crt ) from the official Microsoft PKI Repository .

When installing on Windows 7 , you may encounter a message stating: "A certificate chain processed, but terminated in a root certificate which is not trusted by the trust provider" .